Amanda vs Looking Ahead Beanie

It’s time to introduce you to the MVP of my winter wardrobe. The all star player who managed to go with every single outfit I put together all the time while looking rad AND keeping me as snug as a bug in a rug. It’s the one and only adorable pompom beanie!

This sassy winter number is the Looking Ahead beanie designed by Veera Välimäki. It’s a quick knit beanie pattern that features long ribbing, a lovely texture and an ace pompom. When I first saw this on the cover of Interpretations Volume 3 (a design collaboration between Joji Locatelli and Veera Välimäki) I knew it needed to be in my life. I mean, it’s grey AND squidgy looking AND has a multicolour pompom. It’s basically Amanda catnip!

The yarn for this project is Indiecita DK in colour way 402 which is a lot lighter grey in real life. It is a crazy soft and fuzzy yarn (all hail 100% baby alpaca!) and knits up well. This wool is extra special to me as I picked it up in Arequipa, Peru while on our amazing trip last year. My only regret is I grabbed the two skeins needed for this beanie and didn’t think to grab anymore. Curse you Past Amanda!

The pattern was a very easy one to knit up – it is an easy textural repeat which starts to feel squishy and wonderful in the few rows. I did accidentally knit the ribbing a bit too long but I like the slouchy effect so haven’t gone back to change it. The extra fun part of this beanie is the pompom. I haven’t made one of these since I was a kid and it was just as fun as I remembered. Pompoms for all!

What I liked about this pattern:

Quick and easy knit. After working with 4ply yarn for my last couple of projects it was insane how fast this knit up.

Overall, I adore this beanie and it totally has my wardrobe MVP status over anything else I made this year. It’s funny how such an innocuous item can be used so much – there is totally something to be said about the power of basics! And when Miss Bimble approves of something as well you know it is a definite winner! Maybe I should make her a teeny dog version… 😛